


on the merits of muggle libraries

by kimaracretak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Academic Bonding, Gen, Libraries, pre-eighth year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 04:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20147485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimaracretak/pseuds/kimaracretak
Summary: Hermione and Luna meet up in Dundee before heading back to Hogwarts.





	on the merits of muggle libraries

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fleurlb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurlb/gifts).

Hermione finds Luna in the stacks on the top floor of the library, University of Abertay, Dundee, on a day when the sun is playing its August trick of pretending it will never set. She is tired, she is cold, she's still cross with the guard downstairs who had taken far too long to buy her story about having left her student card somewhere inside, and yet the sight of Luna sprawled on the floor manages to bring an immediate smile to her face.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find me," Luna says without looking up from the reams of parchment strewn across the ground in front of her. Her voice is quiet, but still loud enough to provoke a glare from the Muggle student at the closest table.

"There's two universities in Dundee," Hermione points out. "And your note wasn't _entirely_ clear." She briefly considers the merits of pulling over a chair, but decides to join Luna on the floor, which has the added benefit of blocking Luna from at least several pairs of Muggle eyes. There aren't many other students, and those who are there seem mostly entirely preoccupied with their own studies, but - well, it's _Luna_. They've spent a good deal of time together over this not-quite holiday while they've prepared to return to Hogwarts, and extra caution never hurts.

Now Luna does look up, a tiny furrow between her eyebrows. "But I only left you the student card for ..." she trails off at Hermione's look of confusion. "Didn't I? It isn't the season for Nargles yet."

Hermione can practically see the hour long lecture on Nargle hibernation floating towards her in Luna's glittering purple script. "I figured it out," she says, to forestall both the lecture and Luna's guilt when she realises she'd just forgotten to put the card on their dining room table. "But why in the world are we in a mundane university library? School starts in two weeks, you'll have our library then."

"I like Muggle libraries," Luna says placidly, twirling her pen around. This close, Hermione can see the faint shine of a chameleon charm clinging to it, and wonders if Luna's trying to disguise her quill or her wand. "The books don't try to bite you. Saves ever so much time if you're in a rush."

Put that way, it's impossible to argue with, and Hermione suppresses a shudder at the reminder of third year. "Thought only my class had to deal with Hagrid's, uh -" she sneaks a glance over her shoulder "- _unique_ reading list."

"You were." Luna rolls over and props her chin on her hands so her face is nearly level with Hermione's. "But you should see some of the books Papa had collected." She sighs, and Hermione wonders briefly how much of Xenophilius' library had survived the explosion. "I suppose they're all gone now. All my notes..."

Most of the books had probably been utter nonsense, but Hermione pushes the thought aside in favour of saying, "Well, _I_ suppose that just means you'll have to write more, then."

Luna brightens immediately. "Yeah! I'm doing research on that right now, actually. Muggles are really good at documenting magical stuff, even though they don't know what they're actually seeing" She nudges one of the books closest to her, and Hermione tilts her head to read, upside down, _Monsters Of The Sea: The History, Natural History, and Mythology of the Oceans' Most Fantastic Creatures_.

"Planning on bringing sea monsters from the ocean into our lake then, are we?" She asks.

Luna grins, wide and lazy. "Dunno. Wanna help me find out how far it is to the sea from our lake, and then we go from there?"

Hermione smiles too, in the face of such a look. "Sure, Luna. It's a plan."

And it was.


End file.
